The present invention relates in general to logistic programming of commodity transport between commodity sources and receiving locations at which commodity usage occurs.
There are already methods for addressing logistic problems, which include use of discrete time step simulations limited by many operational rules and small parameter changes. It is therefore an important object of the present invention to avoid the inaccuracies and prolongations of prior logistic systems by reducing the number and types of transport for sustaining different activities involving usage of commodities at receiving locations spaced distance-wise from sources of such commodities.
Pursuant to the present invention, unit quantities of commodities are sequentially transported in accordance with a logistic program during specified periods of time from commodity sources to receiving locations at which usage occurs at some rate, exceeded by the delivery rate of such commodities so as to maintain or store a specified reserve quantity of the commodity at the receiving location. The logistic program also takes into account different constraints on transport timing and capacity including the total number of commodity transits during the specified time of commodity usage, based on conditions of the commodity sources and usage activities at the receiving locations. Also, the logistic programming according to one embodiment of the invention applied imposes a schedule of commodity delivery to the receiving locations so as to minimize the total number of transits. Such logistic programming is applicable to military planning involving on-shore maneuvering military forces at the receiving locations to which commodities are delivered from maneuvering ships at sea as the commodity sources. Other commercial planning activities may also benefit from the same type of logistic program made applicable thereto, such as the delivery of water from a dispenser by transport in cups to a utility storage barrel. A print-out of a logistic program associated with the aforementioned military planning embodiment of the present invention to compute military force sustainment pursuant to the present invention, is attached hereto by way of example as an appendix.